1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season

1980 NCAA Division I-AA season
Regular season
Number of teams45
DurationAugust–November
Playoff
DurationDecember 13–December 20
Championship dateDecember 20, 1980
Championship siteHughes Stadium,
Sacramento, California
ChampionBoise State
NCAA Division I-AA football seasons

The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA football season, part of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-AA level. The third season of I-AA football began in August 1980 and four teams were selected for the postseason, with the national semifinals played on December 13. The 1980 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game was the Camellia Bowl played on December 20 at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento, California.[1][2]

In a game with multiple lead changes, the Boise State Broncos won their first (and only) I-AA championship, defeating the defending national champion Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 31−29.[3] With less than a minute to play, the Broncos drove eighty yards for the winning touchdown, a 14-yard pass from quarterback Joe Aliotti to tight end Duane Dlouhy with twelve seconds remaining.[4]

Conference changes and new programs

School 1979 Conference 1980 Conference
Akron Mid-Continent (D-II) Ohio Valley (I-AA)
Bethune–Cookman SIAC (D-II) MEAC (I-AA)
Delaware D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Florida A&M I-AA Independent MEAC (I-AA)
James Madison D-III Independent I-AA Independent
Maryland Eastern Shore MEAC Dropped Program
Nicholls State D-II Independent I-AA Independent
Southeastern Louisiana D-II Independent I-AA Independent

Conference standings

1980 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Boise State $^ 6 – 1 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
Idaho 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Nevada 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Idaho State* 4 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Weber State* 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Montana State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Northern Arizona 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Montana 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • * – Idaho State and Weber State met twice in league play with each game counting as a half game.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll
1980 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. T–3 South Carolina State $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
North Carolina A&T 3 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Howard 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 2
Bethune–Cookman 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Florida A&M 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Delaware State 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Western Kentucky $ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
No. T–10 Murray State 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. T–3 Eastern Kentucky ^ 5 – 2 – 0 10 – 3 – 0
Austin Peay 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Akron 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
Morehead State 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Middle Tennessee 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Tennessee Tech 1 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Grambling State +^ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Jackson State + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Alcorn State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Mississippi Valley State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Southern 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Texas Southern 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
Prairie View A&M 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Boston University $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. T–10 UMass 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
No. T–10 Connecticut 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
New Hampshire 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Maine 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Rhode Island 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Associated Press poll
1980 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Lehigh ^   –   9 – 1 – 2
No. 6 Delaware   –   9 – 2 – 0
Southeastern Louisiana   –   8 – 2 – 0
No. 8 Northwestern State   –   8 – 3 – 0
Portland State   –   8 – 3 – 0
Bucknell   –   6 – 4 – 0
James Madison   –   4 – 6 – 0
Lafayette   –   3 – 7 – 0
Nicholls State   –   2 – 9 – 0
Northeastern   –   2 – 9 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

Conference champions

See also: List of NCAA Division I-AA/FCS football seasons
Conference champions

Big Sky Conference – Boise State
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State
Ohio Valley Conference – Western Kentucky
Southwestern Athletic Conference – Grambling State and Jackson State
Yankee Conference – Boston University

Postseason

NCAA Division I-AA playoff bracket

The bracket consisted of three regional selections (West, East, and South) plus Eastern Kentucky as an at-large selection.[5]

Semifinals
December 13
Campus sites 		National Championship Game
December 20
Camellia Bowl
Hughes Stadium—Sacramento, CA
      
AtLg Eastern Kentucky 23
East Lehigh* 20
AtLg Eastern Kentucky 29
West Boise State 31
South Grambling State 9
West Boise State* 14

* Denotes host institution

References

  1. ^ "Boise State moves into I-AA finals". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 14, 1980. p. 7B.
  2. ^ "Camellia: Who vs. who?". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 20, 1980. p. 24.
  3. ^ "1980 NCAA Division I Football Championship" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 14. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  4. ^ "Broncos squeak by Colonels, take title". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 21, 1980. p. B2.
  5. ^ Embry, Micahael (December 1, 1980). "Division I-AA playoffs set". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. AP. p. 32. Retrieved February 9, 2019 – via newspapers.com.